Contactless payment now also possible on Antwerp’s trams
From today it will be possible to make contactless payments for tickets on trams in Antwerp. Antwerp is the third area in which contactless payments have been made possible on trams operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn. Previously De Lijn already rolled out its pilot project on trams in Ghent (East Flanders) and on its tram services along the coast of West Flanders.
In a statement De Lijn said that “contactless is much more hygienic. So it is ideal in this times of corona”.
De Lijn is the first public transport company in Belgium to introduce contactless payments. The pilot project was launched a couple of weeks ago in Ghent and on the coastal tram service and it has now been extended to include Antwerp.
White payment terminals have been installed on trams where payment can be made either using a debit card equipped with a chip or a contactless application on a smart phone. Since the onset of the corona crisis it has no longer been possible to make cash payments for tickets on busses and trams.
De Lijn’s Sonja Loos told VRT News that “Contactless payments are very quick and also very hygienic. The driver doesn’t need to give you a ticket which allows things to flow more quickly”.
If the pilot project is a success it will be rolled out to all De Lijn’s bus and trams services.